No, it's not Mary Jo the cat Wench, but Jo the Cabbage Patch one, but talking about cats. I like cats, but for various reasons I've never owned one. Or been owned by one. That hasn't stopped me using them in books, most notably in Dangerous Joy, where I created a furore by killing a cat! Well, the villain did, but all the same, the horror rippled around the web.

Minor spoiler, but the cat comes back. :)

That was a magical Irish kitten called Gardeen, and I was touched the other day when a friend pointed me to a blog where someone had named their new kitten Gardeen after mine. You can read it here.

Have I had any other notable cats in books? I don't think so, until the cat-rabbit of Hesse in The Secret Wedding. Remind me if I've forgotten. Oh yes, there was the story in The Christmas Cat.

This picture is by Linda Bucklin. Check out the many gorgeous cat fractal pictures she has up on her website.I've been a bit worried recently by lack of an animal intruder in the third book in the rakish trilogy, The Secret Duke. The structure I came up for myself for no particular reason was to start with strangers meeting at an inn and to have an odd animal. Coquette pranced into A Lady's Secret, and then Tabby turned up in The Secret Wedding. But where was the animal for Thorn's book?

The other day I realized that it had been there all the time, because The Secret Duke has a prologue set in 1760. Yes, the meeting at an inn -- the Black Rat in Dover. Not, you'll guess, the most salubrious establishment in town. And yes, the snippet I put into the contest was the beginning of that. The story picks up overlapping the time at the end of The Secret Wedding. You'll even revisit the Olympian Revels from the point of view of Bella Barstowe, attending for her own nefarious purposes.

If you've read The Secret Wedding you'll remember that at the end Thorn has temporary custody of Tabby and her two kittens. From the look of things, one is a Manx cat and the other is ordinary.

So clearly, the animal is one or both kittens. Because I'm not a cat person, I'm collecting information about kittens from a few weeks old to a few months. Share some, please, especially stories of cute or extraordinary antics. As inducement, I'm going to award naming rights to two commenters. One will go to the person with the best story -- best being completely subjective, of course. The other will be a random pick. I'll also send each a copy of Dangerous Joy if you don't already have it.

Now, I reserve the right to reject name suggestions until we find one that works. After all, it has to work in the 18th century and be vaguely plausible for the situation, but I'd be delighted if I could name a kitten after someone's beloved pet, living or dead.Go to it!

This was one seriously difficult contest! If there had been space for longer excerpts, it probably would have been easier, but with seven writers represented, that would have been humongously long. Plus, we’re all writing historical romances, most of them set around the same time period. My hat is off to all of you who were willing to take a guess.

If it’s any comfort, while you struggled to identify the writers, we struggled to come up with an equitable way to distribute prizes and reward both accuracy and speed.

And now for the identifications!

Only two of the books have been published (Susan King and Nicola Cornick)—the others are in the pipeline, which was still another form of confusion:

Now, for the winners. No one got all of the authors correct, but two people got five right, and two people got four right. So—the two people who got the five correct answers will get two books each, and the two who got four correct answers will each get a book. The books will be come from the authors in the order of the list above.

Top winner—Cheryl C., the first to come up with 5 correct answers. She’ll get books from Wenches #1 and 2: Susan King/Sarah Gabriel and Nicola Cornic.

Co-winner, who also got five correct answers—Liz M. She’ll get books from Jo Beverley and Patricia Rice.

Second places (four correct answers):

First runner up is Stephanie. She gets a book from Andrea Pickens.

Next runner up is Cyclops8, who has a good eye for a being that has only one eye. <G> She’ll get a book from Anne Gracie.

That leaves one book—the ARC of Loving a Lost Lord, my July book. Because this was such a difficult challenge, we decided to give book #7 to a person chosen at random from all those who had the courage to enter. And the ARC winner is--PamBook!

A few observations on the contest. The most commonly guessed correct answer was for Nicola Cornic after the very knowledgeable Laura Vivanco correctly identified the author, title and series. Nicola had thought that book was read by maybe 7 people, so she was gratified. <G>

Pat Rice’s book was also identified quite often, possibly because it’s the third book in a trilogy and had a lot of clues for the perspicacious. I think Anne Gracie and I were confused with each other the most often—we were both honored by the comparison. <G>

Thanks so much for playing with us! I wonder what we’ll do next anniversary. <g>

I had another blog prepared for today until I read the article “Words to Remember” by Miles Corwin in the June 2009 SMITHSONIAN. I almost died laughing and immediately Googled the lady.

Mrs. Ros, an Irish schoolmarm, was born in 1860, died in 1939, and had her first novel published by her loving husband in 1898. Her three romance novels and liberal collection of poetry succeeded in finding a following of the literary greats of the time, from C.S. Lewis, Mark Twain, Aldous Huxley, to J. R.R. Tolkien. A dubious following, at best, since Lewis and Tolkien and their comrades held contests to see who could read her books for the longest time with a straight face. And Twain called her IRENE IDDESLEIGH “one of the greatest unintentionally humorous novels of all time.”

After reading some of the snippets in the article, I had intended to blog about how the excesses of Victorian society reached its pinnacle (or more accurately, nadir) in her over-the-top verbiage, thankfully followed by the minimalist movements of the twentieth century, but I suspect Huxley nailed it better when he said: “In Mrs. Ros we see, as we see in the Elizabethan novelists, the result of the discovery of art by an unsophisticated mind and of its first conscious attempt to produce the artistic. It is remarkable how late in the history of every literature simplicity is invented.” Damned with faint praise indeed! And I think he took a shot at Shakespeare while he was at it.

Googling her name will turn up all sorts of awfully wonderful prose, but to show an example of what had me giggling, here is the first sentence of Delina Delaney: Have you ever visited that portion of Erin's plot that offers its sympathetic soil for the minute survey and scrutinous examination of those in political power, whose decision has wisely been the means before now of converting the stern and prejudiced, and reaching the hand of slight aid to share its strength in augmenting its agricultural richness?

I tried reducing this to “Have you ever visited a part of Ireland that hasn’t been studied by politicians…” but then I got lost in the circumlocutions and gave up. Stand warned all ye who think metaphor and thesaurii are the path to writerly greatness!

Her poems are hilarious models of simplicity in comparison. From Wikipedia: “A poet as well as a novelist, Ros wrote Poems of Puncture and Fumes of Formation. The latter contains "Visiting Westminster Abbey," which opens:

Holy Moses! Have a look!Flesh decayed in every nook!Some rare bits of brain lie here,Mortal loads of beef and beer,Some of whom are turned to dust,Every one bids lost to lust;Royal flesh so tinged with 'blue'Undergoes the same as you.”

Come on, have you ever read a better impression of Westminster Abbey?!

And the truly timeless part about Mrs. Ros—she despised critics! All of you bastard donkey-headed mites, clay-crabs of corruption, denunciating Arabs, evil-minded snapshots of spleen, and talent-wipers of a wormy order who happen to be reading this, beware! People who dare criticize a writer’s precious articulations shall hereafter be crushed by nattering nabobs of narcissim. (Hmm, I don’t think I’ve quite reached Mrs. Ros’s level of alliteration, but I’ll keep practicing.)

Go ahead, Google Amanda McKittrick Ros, and see how the greatness of awfulness has been eternally immortalized. Anyone want to compete with her record? Although I suspect the entries in the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest are already tough competition (2008 winner: Leopold looked up at the arrow piercing the skin of the dirigible with a sort of wondrous dismay -- the wheezy shriek was just the sort of sound he always imagined a baby moose being beaten with a pair of accordions might make.-- Shannon Wedge, New Hampshire), they’re really simplistic in comparison to Mrs. Ros’s verbosities.

How about a purple prose contest? The person who can write the worst sentence describing a first kiss will win a Mystic book of her choice, because I can’t afford to buy a prized edition of Mrs. Ros!

The Word Wenches have been blogging for three years, which is no small feat in the ephemeral world of cyberspace. That means it’s time for a special anniversary blog. Who could forget our famous Getting Naked with the Wenches blogs to celebrate our first year, Parts I,II, and III?

Aha! A thought occurs. One of an author’s most valuable assets is her unique voice: the sum of how she uses words, her interests, and her view of life. Voice is often the difference between a good book that we love and will reread, and an equally good book that we read and forget.

All the Wenches, current and Emeritae, have strong voices. Admittedly I’m not exactly objective, but when I’m reading comments to posts, I can always identify my fellow Wenches just by how they use words. (And we can often identify regular commenters, too.)

So—today’s contest is samples by all current Wenches, plus one new Wench who hasn’t yet been launched (that will happen next week), but who is already an Honorary Word Wench, so you aren’t working entirely blind.

Below are seven samples, mostly but not always of books that have not yet been published. The illustrations are just for fun. How many can you identify?

Each of us will be giving away a book, though we aren’t yet sure how we’ll pick winners. But if you can identify all or most of the Wenches by their voices, you’ve got a good shot of winning a book/s. So without further adieu:

Wench 1:

“She moved through the mist, lovely as a fairy sprite in a gown and bonnet gray as fog. Just a glance told him that she was all he could ever desire in a woman—gracefully shaped, with the sort of mysterious allure that would endlessly fascinate a man. With such a woman, the days, and the nights, too, would be filled with the happiness that had so long eluded him. He wondered who she was—and then wondered how quickly he could convince her to leave the hillside, and his property, too. She was trespassing.

Folding his arms, he watched as the young woman took the slope upward to where the foothills met the mountain. Behind him was a stone wall, inside that a valuable cache, and within arm’s reach, a loaded pistol with which to protect it. He stood still and silent, breathing, waiting. “

Wench 2:

“She felt oddly at a loss, as though the clear definition of their relationship had somehow been blurred. He was a shopkeeper’s son and she was an admiral’s daughter, and with the shop counter between them she had allowed herself to dream a little. He might always speak to everyone in the same manner, but there was a decided hint of warmth when he addressed her, an admiration in his eyes that had made her heart beat a little faster. Then he had been so kind to her when her father had died. He scarcely knew her and yet his words of comfort had been so perceptive.

Caroline was right - she had been calling in at the draper's shop more often of late, contriving an order of ribbons here, a pair of gloves there. She blushed to think of it now. She had thought… But here her thoughts became at the best confused.

Was she a snob, aware of her status and the relative inferiority of his, or was she above such things, scornful of those whose lives were ruled by rank and privilege?

Whatever the case, she had never met Barnabas Hammond in a situation such as this and it made her feel strangely vulnerable.

The odd effect he had on her caused her voice to come out with decidedly squeaky overtones when she would have preferred to sound authoritative.

“Mr Hammond, what do you mean by creeping around in the dark – and with this-” She gestured with her foot towards the offending sack. It seemed obvious that he had been poaching and worse, that his quarry was still alive.“I would have thought better of you!” She finished with self-righteous indignation.

“Laughter can take many forms, from the gibber of madness to the pure delight of a happy child. The laughter that slithered out into the misty Dover night was the sound of cruel men with a victim in their clutches. It stopped the man in the street.

To his left, water slapped against the wharf, and wind rattled the riggings of ships and jangled a buoy bell. To his right, lanterns hung outside buildings were merely gleaming globes in the sea mist, giving only enough light for him to avoid the larger detritus of any port -- rope, bales, and broken casks.”

Wench 4:

“Taking a deep breath to steady her ragged nerves now that she was so close to her objective, she entered the edge of the woodland. As if a fire-breathing dragon lurked in the shadows under the trees, a cloud of smoke engulfed her, and she coughed harshly.

A rabbit dashed across her foot. She tripped and caught her balance on a tall standing stone. The rock was so hot, she quickly withdrew her palm before it burned.

She dragged her gown up from where it tangled her feet, and held the fabric in her hands, striding faster. She doubted anyone could see her in this murk, and her lungs would appreciate a hasty departure….

A demon shot through the smoke at inhuman speed. She glimpsed only a blur of broad, filthy bare chest before iron arms tackled her waist. She shrieked as the creature tore her heels from the ground and tumbled with her into the ashes on the far side of the lane.

Another fiery geyser spewed into the air on the spot where she’d just been standing.”

Wench 5:

“The lady was still wearing the same hideous headcovering as when she had left the house. Its voluminous clouds of black gauze made her look like a walking stormcloud. “Get out!” Her thunderclap of fury did nothing to dispel the impression. “This instant.” Strange, but for a heartbeat Lucas had a prickling feeling that they had encountered each other before. He shook it off and replied, “Not until you do me the courtesy of hearing me out.”

“How dare you accuse me of bad manners! You are hardly entitled to lecture anyone on proper behavior.”

Lucas tapped his forefinger to the erotic etching. “Neither are you.”

Her shoulders stiffened and her head came up a fraction. She was taller than he had imagined, and for some odd reason he had the impression that beneath the crow black coverings the arch of her neck was graceful as that of a swan. “Get out,” she repeated. “I warn you, I don’t mean to tolerate this invasion of my privacy.”

Lucas crossed his legs and waggled a boot. “What do you intend to do—pull out a pistol and shoot me? I had heard that poison was your preferred weapon.“ “If I gave you a choice, I should imagine you would choose a blade. Word has it you fancy yourself quite a swordsman.” He laughed. “Touché, Lady Sheffield.” Pressing a hand to his chest, he exaggerated a grimace. “I appear to be hoist on my own petard.” The gauzy veil did little to blunt her daggered look. He could feel a thousand little points of steel prick into his flesh. “Your petard will not be hoisting itself—much less anything else—in this house,” she retorted.”

Wench 6:

“A. nodded and stepped forward. The smile in his eyes made her feel a little shy. And the dress was all right, he'd said so. Behind her, Mrs. Ferris cleared her throat in a meaningful way and R. looked past A. “Mrs. Ferris, I presume,” he said with a smile. “R. at your service.” “You are here to escort this girl?” she said in faint disbelief. A. bridled at her tone. “I am,” R. confirmed, holding his arm out for A. to take. She stepped forward and placed her hand on his arm. He covered it with his own. Mrs. Ferris's lips thinned. “She said you were her grandmother's friend.” “That is correct.” “But I was expecting a much older man.” He raised one dark brow. “Were you, ma'am?” he said in a manner that suggested, ever so politely, that it was none of her business. “Life is full of disappointments, isn't it?” And he led A. away. She maintained a dignified walk until they reached the end of the corridor, then she gave a gleeful little skip. “I am so glad you were rude to that woman. She is such a—a-” “I wasn't the least bit rude,” he said. “I was extremely polite.” “Yes, politely rude.” She tried to think of how to describe what he'd done. “Like a very polite wasp.”

Wench 7:

“I was interested even when you were a village midwife,” he said slowly. “Granted, your rank will make it easier for others to accept you as my wife, but the main reason I looked elsewhere was because you appeared to want nothing to do with me. I didn’t think I could change your mind, but I did want to see you again. Just in case.” She looked down at the embers of the fire. “You humble me, Major. I don’t deserve your regard, but I’m grateful for it.” “To say you don’t deserve my regard implies that I have poor taste,” he said with lurking humor. “Quite the contrary.” She laughed. “My apologies.” Her laugh turned into a yawn. “Sleep now. You must be exhausted.” “I am.” She raised her gaze to him. “I would never have imagined such a day as this one.” “Nor would I. Yet here we are.” He gave one of his rare, surprisingly sweet smiles. “I think we shall deal well together, Julia.” “I hope so.” She lay down and wrapped the blanket around her, so tired that she didn’t mind the unyielding floor. Agreeing to marry a virtual stranger was madness. But it was good to have someone concerned on her behalf. She’d been alone so long….”

So who is who? Which voice belongs to which Wench? The best answers between now and midnight Friday will win some books.

And just to liven the pot--I'm giving away an advance reading copy of Loving a Lost Lord.

The French Open started yesterday. It’s one of the “Grand Slam” events, a quartet of tournaments that are the crown jewels of the sport’s elite competitions. (Remember, I warned you all that I am the resident “jock” of the Wenches.) As it’s one of the grand traditions of a game that often appears in literature, it got me to thinking . . .

In historical novels, the words “Tennis, anyone?” conjure up vintage images of elegant figures clad in pristine whites moving gracefully across a swath of verdant lawn. (I’m particularly fond of E.M Forster’s A Room With A View and its descriptions of pastoral Edwardian garden party elegance.)

But take note—Edwardian is the key time frame here. Or late Victorian to be perfectly precise. Any time period earlier and an author is . . . hitting the ball into the net.

I cringe when I read Regency or Elizabethan authors having their characters play a set of tennis outdoors on the lawns. Yes, tennis has been around for centuries—but the game we know today as tennis was not invented until 1874, when Major Walter Clopton Wingfield filed for a patent on a new sport he called sphairistike, which is Greek for . . . uh, well, lawn tennis. (Not that Achilles was known for his drop shot.)

Thankfully the Patent Office refused to patent the name (can you imagine trying to say “Sphairistike, anyone?” . . . especially after two gin and tonics.) But it did give him rights to the design of his court—which was first shaped like an hourglass, rather than the now familiar rectangle. Wingfield quickly published his rules as The Major’s Game of Lawn Tennis.

The game was a hit with the younger sporting set, who were looking for something more vigorous than croquet to play at their country houses. It soon spread to the Continent and America, via Bermuda, and tennis tournaments became a popular pastime for the leisure class.But back to the “real” story.

The game of tennis (these days it is called real tennis, or court tennis, to distinguish it from the modern sport of lawn tennis) originated in the Middle Ages. Legend has it that the game was created by monks hitting a ball off the angled walls and roofs of their monastery or cloisters with their hands. (In France the game has always been known as jeu de paume—game of the hand.) Racquets appeared in the early 16th century and by the reign of the Tudors, tennis was so popular in England and France that numerous indoor courts were built for the game. (In 1600, the Venetian ambassador to Paris recorded that there were 1800 courts in the city. That sounds awfully high to me, but perhaps it was true, because it’s also recorded that high stakes gambling on tennis was so prevalent in 1369 that Charles V had to issue an edict restricting play.)

Interestingly enough, one of the first mentions of a female athlete in history was a tennis player. In 1427, it’s recorded that Margot of Hanault played at a gambling house known as the Little Temple and attracted crowds when she took on all challengers.

Court tennis is often called the sport of kings, for royal names abound in the annals of the game. Louis X of France died from a chill he caught after playing jeu de paume.. Henry VIII, an ardent player, was said to have been executing a slice on the tennis court at Hampton Court as Anne Boleyn was losing her head. And on the Continent, Catherine de Medici was known to wear her hair styled in the shape of a tennis racquet.

Tennis also figured into the lore of the French Revolution. David’s famous painting of “The Tennis Court Oath” pictures the deputies of the Third Estate on the court at Versailles, swearing to fight for a constitution for France. (For the record, the monarchy went down to defeat in straight sets.) Napoleon and Wellington were also said to be aficionados of the game.

Classic literature abounds with references to court tennis. Perhaps the most famous is Act 1, Scene II in Shakespeare’s Henry V, where the King reacts to the French Dauphin’s insulting gift of tennis balls: “When we have matched our rackets to these balls/We shall in France, by God's grace, play a set/Shall strike his father's crown into the hazard.”

A court tennis court is asymmetrical (so are the racquets) and the oddities reflect the game’s Medieval courtyard heritage. While all courts are approximately 110’ long by 38’ wide, no two are exactly alike. Each has its own unique little architectural details to bedevil the players, which is considered part of the charm of the game. However, the elements are the same. The ancient cloister roof is represented by the penthouse, a sloping ledge that runs along three sides of the court. On the fourth wall is a buttress called the tambour. There are openings in the walls called the dedans and the grille. A net crosses the center of the court, but it high at the ends and droops in the center because in past centuries, the monks had no way to tighten it. The floor is a hard, cement-like surface marked with painted lines that look more like football markings than the familiar lawn tennis layout.

As for scoring . . . oh, don’t ask. It’s incredibly complicated. Yes, the games and sets are scored the same as in modern tennis, but winning points is far more complex. As one top-ranked court tennis player admitted, ”If you haven’t played the game, it’s impossible to comprehend.” Suffice it to say, depending on where a ball lands, there are complex rules about playing hazards and chases, which are sort of games within games. (Cut to the chase is a term that comes from court tennis.) Sometimes the best way to win a point is not to play the ball at all! Even experienced players need a scorer to keep track of all the arcane permutations.For modern tennis fans, this time of year marks the zenith of the game’s calendar. As I mentioned, the French Open—played on the glorious red clay courts at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris—is a much anticipated rite of Spring. And at the end of June, strawberries and cream at the grass courts of Wimbledon outside of London are a cherished English sporting tradition. So as you watch the modern athletes pummel the ball across the net, raise a toast to both the old and the new—and know that the roots of the game are far deeper than those emerald blades of grass.

And speaking of grass, wait until I get rolling on the origins of golf . . . cleeks, mashies, niblicks, gutties . . . (She says with an evil leer. <G>)

Do you have a favorite summer game or pastime?

(P.S. There are ten court tennis courts in the U.S. Most are in Eastern private clubs, such as the Racquet & Tennis Club in NYC and Tuxedo Park, in Tuxedo, NY. However, there is one public court at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, RI.)

Please join us on Wednesday, 5/27, when we celebrate our THIRD ANNIVERSARY of blogging together as the Wenches! We have some fun activities planned,including a guessing game, excerpts from our works-in-progress, and book giveaways.

Get out your party hats and prepare to have fun! It's going to be a par-taaayyy!!!

Thank you, Mary, for visiting the Word Wenches and bringing your unique perspective to the table. You are now officially an Honorary Word Wench, with the privilege of adding "HWW" after your name. This will impress and mystify your many fans. It also comes with the invitation to make a return visit at any time, especially if you have a new book to promote.

It's traditional for the Wenches to bestow virtual gifts of appreciation on our guests, and your host, Jo, has come up with a lovely virtual gift--a modest mansion in Wales: Plas Cilybebyll, Pontardawe, Swansea. The perfect second home, is it not? And if you can tell us how to pronounce its name, even better! Just think of the stories you could write while relaxing by the indoor pool!

Mary Balogh has chosen two winners for a hardback copy of Seducing an Angel: Liz Brooks and Janice Jacobson. Janice has already ordered the book, so she graciously relinquished her prize to another deserving soul. Mary will be picking a new winner, as a result. Thanks, Janice! (And thanks, Mary!) And to the winners: congratulations!

How on earth do you follow on after a fabulous act like Mary Balogh and Jo Beverley? I sat down with a coffee to ponder the problem, and thought if that if they'd just done a library talk, of the sort many of our local authors do in Australia, we'd probably follow the talk with afternoon tea. And since both Mary and Jo originally hail from the UK, they would no doubt enjoy it, too.

Afternoon tea is still something of an institution here, especially in the country, where any gathering is an excuse for a party. And as it's daylight, and the party is mostly by and for women, it's all about cakes. And scones. And cream. And sandwiches, small and dainty with the crusts cut off. And sausage rolls. Every woman has her speciality, and the rivalry is quietly intense.

When I was a child, I loved these events. While my mother and grandmother and other female relatives were in a frenzy of baking, my job was to take out all the cups and sauces and plates, wash them and match them all up, polish the tiny silver teaspoons and set them all out on the side table. Every cup set was different and I had my favorites. Here are some of the cups of my childhood; my grandmother's and mother's.

Not a lot has changed, I'm told. A romance writer friend who lives in the country is hugely in demand for library talks. People tell her she should at least charge petrol money, as she often drives an hour or more each way, but no, she confessed to me once, she does it for the cakes. LOL. Country women come to her talks in the spirit of a party get-together, so they bring sponges, cream cakes, scones, sandwiches and sausage rolls, all home made and delicious.

It's not quite the afternoon tea that the grand hotels put on these days, but the origins are the same, stemming from the custom that flowered particularly in the Victorian era.

It's claimed that the custom originated with The Duchess of Bedford, one of Queen Victoria's Ladies in Waiting. According to this site,"the Duchess suffered from "a sinking feeling" at about four o'clock in the afternoon. At first the Duchess had her servants sneak her a pot of tea and a few breadstuffs. Adopting the European tea service format, she invited friends to join her for an additional afternoon meal at five o'clock in her rooms at Belvoir Castle. The menu centered around small cakes, bread and butter sandwiches, assorted sweets, and, of course, tea. This summer practice proved so popular, the Duchess continued it when she returned to London, sending cards to her friends asking them to join her for "tea and a walking the fields." The practice of inviting friends to come for tea in the afternoon was quickly picked up by other social hostesses."

Perhaps the Duchess made the timing of afternoon tea fashionable, but the custom was obviously already established. In a letter to her brother in 1801, Catherine Wilmot, an Irish lady traveling on the continent, wrote of a French "thé" she attended. "The table was spread with Tea, Cakes, Bon-bons, pâtisserie of all kinds, confitures (jams and fruit pastes) etc. and afterward an enormous bowl of Ponch (punch) and Liqueurs, all of which they thought perfectly à la l'Angloise." (English)

And before that, tea gardens were very popular in the 18th century, where ladies and gentlemen gathered in the open to drink tea, nibble on dainty food and be entertained by musicians or to simply stroll about.

But however it started, let us take afternoon tea together. Since I am the hostess, I'll provide the basics. Scones are a must; plain scones for eating with jam and cream, and date scones for eating with butter.

Scones are a wonderful source of debate on Regency loops -- I don't know how many discussions I've seen where people have hotly argued the difference between scones and American biscuits. But since this is a tea party, let us not debate, but simply eat, scones and biscuits both welcome. Here is a recipe for scones from the always reliable Delia Smith.

The secret to good scones is to keep everything cool and not to handle the dough very much. Use a knife to mix and knead very lightly - as much as it takes to put it together. And here is a cheat's recipe for scones made with what we call lemonade but what is really plain sweet soda -- something like 7-Up, I imagine -- there's no lemon taste.

Then there's jelly cakes. My friend Red makes jelly cakes (jello cakes) that are a blast from the past and are so delicious she's not allowed to go anywhere without bringing them. Small light "fairy cakes" dipped in half-set red jelly (jello) then rolled in coconut, and a few hours before serving, sliced open and filled with cream so that by the time you come to eat them they are squishy and delicious. Childhood delight. I've seen grown men line up for them, practically weeping at the sight! In searching for the pic on the right, I found out that some people actually buy plain cake from the supermarket, cut it into cubes and roll it in jelly and coconut for a quick cheats jelly cake! Works for me. ;)

A method for cucumber sandwiches is here, but really I think I'll ask my friend Meredith to bring sandwiches -- she's famed for them, especially her chicken and avocado ones.

And no good country cook would offer afternoon tea without a featherlight sponge. My friend Linda makes great sponges. I was looking for pictures of the perfect sponge, and came across a site where a former president of the Countrywomen's Association was talking about the perfect sponge.

She remembers the Sundays of her youth just after World War II. "We'd light the oven, put in the roast and go to church," she says. "When we got back we'd put the vegies in and cook the Yorkshire pudding. Then we'd wash up and start baking proper for high tea."

High tea was a lighter meal enjoyed in the early evening and the sponge cake was pivotal, the "must have" cake that proved the ability of the cook. It was always a talking point.

"Our friends stayed dancing and eating cake until 10 o'clock when dad kicked them out. But when a boyfriend got his feet under Mum's table it was very hard to get rid of them. I'm still married to the last one," MacLeod laughs.

As for the question of whether men can make a sponge, she smiles. "There is need for lightness to make a sponge. It is almost as if you are caressing the flour into the mixture. Men know how to caress if they know how to caress their woman."

Isn't that charming? Such a delightful variation on "Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?" changing the words to "Can you bake a lovely sponge, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?" Much more my cup of tea.;)

So let us all sit down to afternoon tea, no matter what the time is where you are. Choose a cup, a beverage of your choice, and perhaps you might like to order some beloved special food from the gatherings of your childhood. You can sit with anyone— real person, living or dead or a fictional character. So, what would you like to eat, and who would you like to sit next to? Tell us about your afternoon tea...

Jo here, delighted to welcome the wonderful writer, Mary Balogh, who is both a fellow Brit -- Mary's Welsh and I'm English, and a fellow Canadian. Mary, welcome to Word Wenches. It's a delight to have you visit, especially when you're riding so high. Your current book, At Last Comes Love, entered the NYT paperback bestseller list at #2. That's brilliant!

Mary: Thank you for having me. I like the company!

Jo: You started writing in the early '80s at about the same time I did, but were published faster - in 1985. I think your approach of sending the manuscript to the distribution center in Mississauga (you can read the story on Mary's web site ) was better than mine -- dilly-dallying, then sending it to Walker because I'd seen their books in the library! Back in those days, there was so little information and guidance.

Mary: And I, it seems, was a greater greenhorn than you!

Jo: Can you tell us a little more about that particular time when you went from thinking about writing a book, dreaming about writing a book, to actually doing it?

Mary: I always wanted to be an author. As a child I used to write long, long stories. Of course, one has to be more practical when one grows up--I became a high school English teacher. And other things interfere with mere dreams too--hormones and marriage and motherhood, for example. Finally, when the youngest of my three children was in school, I started to be able to read again.

It was wonderful for a while, until I realized it was too passive an activity. And I kept getting impatient with so many books I read, convinced that I could have done so much better with the material, and especially with book endings. And then I pulled a Harlequin romance out of a Corn Flakes box and read it, and then, a little later, I discovered the books of Georgette Heyer.

So it was a combination of influences that pushed me in the fall of 1983 to sit down at the dining room table in the evenings and write a story long-hand.

After three months I had finished it (A MASKED DECEPTION), and I typed it out on an ancient typewriter and then bundled it up and sent it off with a brief covering letter to that distribution centre in Canada. Greenhorn on the move!

Jo: I think it's reassuring for new writers to learn that most of us made mistakes at the beginning. How many books have you had published now?

Mary: I think it's about 70 novels and about 30 novellas.

Jo: All your stories have been Regency or Georgian. Have you any interest in writing in another period?

Mary: I did write two Welsh historicals (LONGING and TRULY) set in Wales in the late 1830s and one book (TANGLED) set during the Crimean War. But by far the vast majority of my books are Regency. And the rest will probably stay in that era. I feel no great pull to any other historical era. I adored writing the Georgians (all those gorgeous, sexy, very dangerous males with their fans and makeup and high-heeled shoes and small-swords at their sides!) and felt quite uncomfortable with the Victorian, but the Regenciesfit me like a glove.

Jo: So many readers love the Regency. What do you see as the magic of the period?

Mary: This is what I am hoping readers of this blog will tell me--and the best answer will be rewarded with a copy of my new hardcover due out at the end of May--SEDUCING AN ANGEL. It's not an easy question to answer, is it? What it is about the Regency period that makes so many people feel almost nostalgic, as though they had lived there very happily in a former life?

Jo: There, dear readers -- your challenge, and with a grand prize. The Regency period is undoubtedly a magical one for romance. So why do you love it? If you don't, it'd be interesting to hear why on that, too. Have at it!

I do have a concern, Mary. Do you think it's possible for the period to be worked to death, or do you think the appeal is eternal?

Mary: I don't think any topic or genre or era can ever be worked to death if it turns out that someone has something fresh and new and wonderful to say. That is the key, though. It is very easy to start finding secret baby books or vampire books or any other fashionable types of book tedious when they are mediocre or repetitive. But if someone writes a great Regency or whatever, suddenly it doesn't matter that a thousand other such books have gone before it.

Jo: An excellent point, Mary. "Regency romance" has changed over time. It once meant the "traditional Regency romance," which are the books we both wrote when we started. Now most Regencies are historicals. Do you have any thoughts about future changes? Are there any new directions you'd like to see it take?

Mary: As far as I'm concerned, the Regency is simply an historical era. It is a setting, a background for a story.

Jo: I agree with you there. I've always tried not to link the period in my mind with an author, be it Heyer or Austen, or a particular story type or writing style.

Mary: Even when I was writing the trad Regencies, no one could ever explain to me how they were different from the "historical" Regencies some people were starting to write, apart from the length, that is.

(Side comment from Jo. Even in length we didn't always have much difference. My first Rogues books were published as trad Regencies, and they were over 100,000 words, which is typical of a historical now.)

Mary: People used to accuse me of breaking the rules, but no one could ever produce those rules. The type of Regency I write now is the same type of Regency I have always written, except that in more than twenty years I hope I have grown as a person and improved as a writer. I always strive to do something different with each book, but that is relatively easy because my books are about people, and there are infinite differences in people.

Jo: Yes, that's the key. I agree.

Mary: I don't really mind if the Regency heads off in a vast number of different directions (paranormal Regency, for example). It doesn't matter. What I do want is for it to continue to produce an endlessstore of great books that lots of readers will want to read and reread. I don't read much romance, by the way (too much like what I do for a living every day, and I am too afraid of being influenced by tends or even of unconsciously plagiarizing). So I am really not the one to ask about changing trends!

Jo: That's an interesting question to toss out, too. Anyone have any personal view of the development of the Regency romance over the past 20 years or so? And where it might be heading now?

You've had a wonderful career, Mary, and your books are all big bestsellers now, but writing fiction is always a chancy career, with many ups and downs. Can you share any shaky moments along the way?

Mary: Perhaps the shakiest moment for me was when I left my first publisher after many years. My new publisher was the highest bidder at an auction,and they treated me like a queen, including flying me to New York and wining and dining me. They gave my first book with them a huge print-run, and it sold more copies than any of my other books had sold before it. BUT the sell-through was abysmal--below 50%. They promptly lost all interest in me. My numbers plummeted, my editor was never available, they would offer only one-book contracts with exactly the same terms as the one before.

Fortunately, with my agent's help, I reacted swiftly and decisively enough to move from there before my career was quite wrecked--as has happened to many promising authors of my acquaintance in the same sort of situation.

Jo: Yes, I've known such cases, too. Thanks for sharing your story, because it could prove useful to someone else sometime. I always think selling fiction is like having a lottery ticket. Winning is rare, butsometimes, out of nowhere, we get something wonderful that we hadn't expected. Have you had any of those?

Mary: Well, what has happened to me recently has certainly been like winning a lottery. A couple or so years ago I was preparing to sink happily into semi-retirement, writing one book a year and having the hardcover one year/paperback the next year sort of thing going on. But I had an idea for a quintet of books and didn't really want to see them spread thin over so many years. So I suggested that I write the first three as quickly as I could and that Dell put them out one after the other in paperback--rather as they did a few years ago with my six SLIGHTLY books.

Dell was agreeable and even suggested that the fourth book come out in hardcover right after the first three. That is what is happening now, this spring. And this is the miraculous part and something I certainly couldn't have predicted when I made the original suggestion. With the economic crisis as it is, this is EXACTLY the right time for these books to be out there. My numbers have gone up when many other writers' numbers have gone down, and these books are doing excellently on all the big lists. Usually when things like this happen, it is to someone else--being in exactly the right place at the right time, I mean. I am rather enjoying the fact that this time it's happening to me.

Jo: But like most such wonderful things, fully deserved. Congratulations, again! And yes, sales of romance are doing well. People want pleasure in their reading, and happy endings.

This series is about the Huxtable family. Tell us about them and the books.

Mary: This current series is a quintet. It's about a family of three sisters and a brother and their male second cousin. The siblings were living in genteel poverty in a country village when the news reached them that Stephen, the youngest and only 17 at the time, had inherited an earldom and all that went with it. They all moved to his principal estate and proceeded to deal with the huge changes life had brought them.

Constantine, the second cousin, was actually the eldest son of a former earl but could not inherit himself because his parents married two days after his birth. FIRST COMES MARRIAGE is the story of Vanessa, the middle sister, who is a widow. THEN COMES SEDUCTION is the story of Katherine, the youngest sister. AT LAST COMES LOVE is Margaret's story--she is the eldest. Stephen had to be allowed time to grow up. His story is told in SEDUCING AN ANGEL.

Constantine weaves in and out of the other four stories, and it is never quite clear if he loves or hates his cousins. It is also believed that he stole from his youngest brother, who was earl for three years before his death and who had Downs Syndrome. Con's story, of course, has to be last--and readers are already begging me to write it. I think that because the first four books are coming out this spring, they fear there will not be a story for Con, even though I have always described the series as a quintet. They don't know me very well, do they? How could I possibly leave such a delicious male story-less? I have just started to write his book.

Jo: That confirmation will make your readers very happy. Thank you so much, Mary, for this interview.

So now it's up to you, dear readers. Here's your chance to ask Mary some questions, and don't forget to discuss the questions tossed out here. Why is the Regency period such a magical one for romance? How do you see its history over the past two decades, and how do you expect it to change in the future?

Remember, Mary is giving away TWO copies of the June hardcover, SEDUCING AN ANGEL. One will go to a random pick of all people who comment, but the other will be Mary's choice from the comments on the questions above.

Last weekend, we went down to visit my sister in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwestern Virginia. Much fun was had doing a range of things from lunching at Chateau Morrisette , a lovely winery restaurant just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, to joining a trail feed on the Appalachian Trail. (Food figured prominently in the weekend. <g>)

Serious hikers of the AT, as the trail is called, have a strong sense of community. This is why people like my sister’s friends will go and cook a Dutch oven feast for northbound through hikers who started in North Georgia in very early spring and are reaching Virginia in May. The fellowship was lovely, and the hikers, mostly robust young people in their 20s, were very appreciative of good food (Lasagne! Warm brownies!) and a comfortable camp chair. Since two of the trail feed hostesses had hiked the whole trail themselves, there was instant rapport.

But I digress. What inspired this particular blog was the Friday Jamboree at the Floyd Country Store, which is a sophisticated store with hundred year old roots. Every Friday, several music groups play for an hour each. The front of the story has a variety of useful items while the back has a stage, a lot of folding chairs, and an area cleared for dancing.

We got there just as a gospel group was winding up and The Jugbusters band was coming on. I’m not sure where the jug was, but the group had fiddles and a bass and they played fine, toe tapping country dance music. As soon as the first note sounded, onlookers leaped onto the dance floor—and the first ones there were men probably in their 70s. And let me tell you, those guys could dance!

In moments, the floor had filled up with people of all ages, and you didn’t need a partner. All you had to do was go onto the floor and start moving to the music. Some serious dancers had special clogger tap shoes that were very jingly, while other participants might never have set foot on a dance floor. Experience didn’t matter.

Clog dancing is a folk style, which means it takes many different forms, but a key is the foot work, traditionally done with hard-soled shoes (originally clogs) that are used to create a strong percussive rhythm. Generally the arms are relaxed at the sides—clogging is an ancestor of tap dance and is related to Irish step dancing. If you’ve attended a performance of Riverdance or watched a recording, you know the primal power of all those swift, noisy drumming feet.

The Appalachians were settled by Scotch Irish immigrants back in the 18th century, and they’ve been clogging for fun ever since. Now a mixture of their descendants and immigrants to the mountains were out on the dance floor in all ages and combinations.

Every second or third dance, a neon sign saying TWO STEP would come on above the stage, and that was the signal for dancing with a partner to a somewhat slower tempo. All kinds of partners—couples young and old, a very large man with an elderly but spry woman who barely passed his elbow, married couples, a tall teenager with a little blond about 8 years old who was earnestly watching the others and getting better with every step.

I managed to get my sister onto the floor to clog with me, and the Mayhem Consultant and I did a two step. Very badly, but it didn’t matter. It was great fun. The most serious dancers went virtually non-stop for a solid hour, pausing only between numbers. The evening reminded me of occasional square dances I attended as a kid in rural Western New York. “Swing your partner, dosi do…”

Since I’m a writer, naturally the whole jolly event got me to thinking about dancing and history. Dance has been with us for time beyond counting: dances for religious observance, to send pleas to the gods, to celebrate, to illustrate the ancient stories. There are signs of dancing in Indian cave paintings 9000 years old, and it was surely not young then.

These days we have the best musicians in the world on tap with the flick of a dial or a few mouse clicks, but historically, music came from local folks, and if you were competent on a piano or a fiddle or a harmonica, you were a valuable social asset. Get together a few people and if one or two can play an instrument, you had a party. The clogging, line dances, square and circle dances that are folk dance today are blood kin of the dances our Regency characters did.

Though I knew this, the dancing at the Floyd Country Store reminded me on a visceral level just how valuable musical skill was. No wonder our well bred heroines learned the pianoforte and the harp as girls, and a good voice was valued. When there are not CDs or radio, you rejoice in the talents of your neighbors. If you were a music lover, going to London to hear top level musical performances was joy beyond imagining, but the neighborhood girl with the lovely soprano voice was also a source of great pleasure.

Grand balls are a staple of Regency historicals—so much so that it’s easy to forget what special occasions they were, especially for guests from the country. The dazzle of lights, first class music, beautifully dressed guests—of course it was exciting. And fun—a chance to work off one’s energy and have a good time.

These days researchers have determined that physical activity is an antidote to depression that can equal or surpass anti-depressant drugs. In other words, dancing is joy. What better antidote to a gray, wet English season than dancing?

Balls have another great advantage for writers, and that is as a plot device. A ball lets the author bring characters together so they can interact. I’ve written my share of dance scenes where heroes challenged villains, simmering tensions exploded, and occasionally couples sneaked away for a heated encounter.

But most of all, a ball is a great opportunity for characters to interact romantically. Dancing has been called “the vertical expression of a horizontal desire,” and it’s so true! In a world where the sexes lived fairly separate lives, even the touch of a gloved hand can be intoxicating. Dancing was a form of intimacy that could be done in public, and a ball provided opportunities to meet new, exciting people.

And have I mentioned that it’s fun? <G>

A drawback of our media culture is that when programs like “Dancing with the Stars” show beautiful, talented people in gorgeous, sexy costumes, it’s easy to settle deeper into the couch and feel inferior. But dance isn’t just for the fit and fabulous. It’s for everyone. There’s a saying, “If you can walk, you can dance.” And that's true. It took the Floyd Country Store to remind me of that.

So what about you? Do you love to dance? Did you do it once, but it’s slipped out of your life? What are your favorite dance related memories? I’d love to hear!

Winners! We have more winners! Kristina Watson and Mari Martin have won books from Anne Gracie. Jane Irish Nelson won The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor anthology by Diane Gaston, Amanda McCabe, and Deb Marlowe. Winners, please send your mailing address to Sherrie, if you haven't already. Congratulations!

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 20, when Mary Balogh will be Jo Beverley's guest here at the Word Wenches. Mary hardly needs an introduction, and we are thrilled to have her visit with us this coming Wednesday. If you leave a comment, you will be eligible to win a book from Mary!

Diane, Deb, and Amanda, thanks so much for sharing the fascinating tale of how you created The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor. I hope the three of you have the chance to do another project like this together.

As Word Wench guests, you are now granted the Order of Honorary Word Wenches! From now on, you can put HWW after your name, to the mystification and admiration of your peers. <G>

Your Honorary Word Wench Virtual Gift is, of course, diamonds. This fine black diamond parure from http://www.antiquingonline.com can surely be shared among your heroines whenever any of them particularly wish to dazzle. Enjoy!

Something new for you today! I’m sure you’ve all read romance anthologies, which usually have a vague sort of theme, like a holiday or a setting. Generally the stories are unconnected, but now and then an anthology is created where the stories are strongly related to each other.

When Jo Beverley, Barbara Samuel, Karen Harbaugh and I have written our three paranormal romance anthologies, we’ve spent a fair amount of time on world building, and in the first anthology (Faery Magic), we actually had small connections among the stories and characters.

But my guests today are doing something much more difficult! In The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor, authors Diane Gaston, Deborah Marlowe, and Amanda McCabe have actually set their anthology in the same blended family, which requires a special kind of team work. Diane, Deb, and Amanda are here today to explain the kind of work required to create such an integrated anthology. They’re giving away a free copy, too! So without further ado:

Hello, Word Wenches, Diane Gaston here!. Thank you so much for having us visit you today to talk about the making of our anthology, The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor.

When the Duke of Manning ran off with Lady Linwall it had been the scandal of its day. Did they care? Not at all. Their home, Welbourne Manor, soon housed a happy miscellany of his and theirs—but not hers, not the young son she left behind. Now all the children are grown, this estranged son is on their doorstep, and all their lives are about to change.. Amanda McCabe, Deb Marlowe, and I (pictured above in order) have been friends for years, especially since we all went on the 2003 Novel Explorations Tour of Regency England where we oohed and ahhed over Regency things like shoes, carpets, and crown molding throughout London, Brighton, and Bath. Later, at the 2007 RWA conference in Dallas, Texas, Deb had just sold, joining Amanda and me at Harlequin Historical. We were very excited to all be invited out to dinner by Harlequin Historical editor, Maddie Rowe.

DIANE: I remember not having a clue why we were invited out to dinner. I thought it was a case of killing three birds with one stone..er..dinner. Amanda and Deb, what do you remember?

AMANDA: I remember we had Mexican food—very smoky fajitas, and some great margaritas.

DEB: I remember how good the margaritas were!

DIANE: No! I meant what do you remember about Maddie offering us the anthology?

AMANDA: Oh. I remember they said they had “aproposal for us”, and we were trying to figure out what it might be!!

DEB: Actually, I was thrilled to be offered the opportunity. This was my first anthology, so I was excited about trying the new format. I was surprised that the offer was for us to come up with any theme or idea we wanted, and really relieved because I knew the three of us would work well together.

DIANE: I’ve only done one other anthology-a Christmas one with Elizabeth Rolls and Deborah Hale, but we didn’t correspond until it was time to promote the book.

AMANDA: I’d done two novellas before, but they were very different from this one! They were both for Christmas anthologies, and there wasn’t really a cohesive theme or storyline (except one anthology had “Christmas magic” as the general idea!). I didn’t even know who the other authors were until I got the covers! This was so much more collaborative, and more about building a whole world. I think it helped so much that we already knew each other well!

DIANE: Funny, I’ve heard that people believe that Harlequin tells its authors what to write for the anthologies. I know they do sometimes, but all they wanted from us was that it be Regency. We were free to decide to do it anyway we wanted. Didn’t we pretty much know right away we wanted connected stories?

AMANDA: I think ideas started bubbling up right away!

DIANE: Later that summer the three of us met in Williamsburg, Virginia, to plan the anthology. Amanda and I had already planned the trip, to tour Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg, but Deb was able to join us for a couple days and we spent one day just wandering around Colonial Williamsburg. Sightseeing in historical places was in our blood.

DIANE: What do you remember about that day? I remember we spent lots of time asking the guy running the printing press a million questions. We had a great time! But we weren’t talking about the anthology and I was starting to get nervous.

AMANDA: I wish I could remember more! I just remember we came up with the general theme over lunch at one of the “colonial taverns” and then spent the day shopping and touring.

DEB: I think that once we came up with the idea of a blended, extended family, our brains were working all day, even as we were touring and shopping. I remember coming up with different ideas at different parts of the day, but it really started to come together cohesively in the evening, when we sat in the hotel room with our notebooks and started to brainstorm. I think we used nearly everything we came up with that night!

AMANDA: We talked about possible characters and settings. That evening we sat around in Deb’s hotel room and pulled the idea together! (Well, sort of—lots of emails had to follow!)

DIANE: As soon as we created the duke and his lover, I knew exactly whose story I wanted to tell. I think my hero, Brenner, came to me full-blown in that instant. And I remember both of you knew instantly whose story you wanted to tell.

After Williamsburg, we went back to our homes and the other deadlines we were all chasing. It was months before we talked specifically about the anthology again, this time by email.

DEB: I remember that we started with an email that set up the basic outline we came up with in Virginia—

DIANE: That’s because you kept good notes!

AMANDA: Characters' names, appearances, and personalities, and how they all fit together in the family! (The family charts you came up with were a big help).

DIANE: The social worker in me. I put the chart on my website.

AMANDA: The layout of the house and gardens, the servants’ names, lots of things like that.

DEB: I remember loving the house that Diane proposed as a setting.

DIANE: Marble Hill House outside Richmond, but we had to make it bigger.

DEB: I really liked putting to use the character traits that the other two had come up for their heroines, such as Charlotte's tendency to ride hard, run about in her riding habit and the pugs always following her about.

DIANE: Some of our ideas fell by the wayside or diminished in importance, like having each book begin with a house party. We even called the work our “House Party Anthology.” But later the editors told us that they’d selected our book to be a featured book for Harlequin’s 60th anniversary, their “Diamond” anniversary. They wanted us to put some diamonds in the story, so we made the diamonds important. And even the title reflects that now.

The real test of how well we achieved our vision of connected stories came with our revision letters.

DIANE: I remember that MY revisions were pages long and yours were just a few things here and there.

DEB: Very easy! I don't think we had very many continuity issues because we were in such close contact. I think the only large thing I had to change was that I had the wrong pug stealing Annalise's necklace!

AMANDA: I think I had the easiest job, with the last story! Many of the characters just appeared in the epilogue, but I had to make sure Charlotte’sthoughts of them and their letters to her fit in with their personalities.

So that is how The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor came to be released this month and we could not be happier with how it came out. All three of us will be in New York City to sign The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor at the Harlequin booth for Book Expo America May 30. You can bet we’ve planned some sightseeing, too! Who knows what story ideas we might come up with. Because we also created three sons in our scandalous family and they each get a book!

So ask us questions! What would you like to know about writing an anthology?

MJP: Diane, Deb, and Amanda will give away a copy of The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor to one lucky commenter between now and Saturday night.

Anne here. Last month I went away for five days on a writers' retreat, and since some of you have, at various times, asked about such things as critique partners and writers groups, I thought you might be interested in what we did. It's the third year we've gone on retreat — the same group of 11 people, roughly the same time of year, and we follow the same process, but of course, each time it's different.

It's a very special time for all of us, as we live far apart, coming from five different states in three corners of the country, and one from New Zealand, so it's simply wonderful to see each other face to face. Most Australian romance writers only see each other at the annual conference — there's only one for the whole country, and as Australia is geographically a similar size to mainland USA, you can see why we talk about the "tyranny of distance."

This makes our retreat even more special, as most of us also don't live near any other romance writer, or any other fiction writer.

Our first retreat was near a beach and the second one was in spa country, and we decided after that that we had to be near a beach. There's something magical about being beside the sea — dawn walks, sitting on the beach in the dark, listening to the waves and watching the moon, drawing a labyrinth in the sand, walking it contemplatively and later, watching the sea wash it away— it's all very inspirational.

Since we couldn't return to the first place (the owners of the eleven room Victorian era guesthouse sold it and the new owners are turning it into a family house) we decided that Sydney was probably the most central — none of us live there, several of us could drive there and for the rest of us it was just one flight. We stayed at Coogee Beach, and this was the scene from my room. Yep, it's a tough life, but someone has to do it. ;)

On the second night a storm blew in and those palm trees were whipping around and the waves were crashing in all night. It was warm and muggy and I slept with my sliding doors open and listened to the surf and the wind in the trees. It was superb.

But even though it's beautiful, it's a work retreat. We're all working writers, earning our own living, so we can't justify the time away from computers and families for simple frivolity, and indeed we'd be foolish to waste the opportunity.

We start by meeting on the first night over wine and fish and chips and we plan a program for the 5 days. We have a formal session after each breakfast, lunch and dinner — business discussions, craft-of-writing sessions, "a writer's life," whatever — we brainstorm all the things we'd like to talk about during the retreat, assign a group leader for each one and then slot them into a timetable.

In one session we had a pearl-knotting class, in which we talked about writing as we made necklaces — that one was filed under "refilling the creative well." We talked about endings and what makes a really good ending (I'll keep that for a separate blog topic), we talked about layering, we talked about where we were in our careers, we talked tax and the economic situation, we talked about breakout books, and continuities, we discussed editors and agents and about remembering to find the joy in our writing.

In between those sessions we wrote. Some also met to brainstorm in small groups, or walk along the beach, or critique each other's work, but the writing time is inviolable — it's practically a crime to interrupt anyone who's writing, and since three of us were on deadline at the end of that week, nobody needed reminding. (They all made it, by the way.)

Critique is a growing part of our interaction. It's not so much a critique group — it's usually one or two individuals showing another their work to a couple of others for particular feedback — "I've rewritten these first few chapters several times and now I don't know if it works, can you have a look, please?" or "There's something not working in this scene and I don't know what it is," — that sort of thing. We know each others' writing, our strengths and weaknesses and over the three years an amazing level of trust has grown between us. And within the group there is a level of wisdom and supportiveness and appreciation that's extraordinary.

A highlight for me was when four of us holed up in someone's room one rainy afternoon and brainstormed someone's three part series. We also brainstormed an alternative ending for another book and made it so much stronger. It's very stimulating process — really , IMO, the job of the brainstormer is not to tell the author what to do, but toss suggestions around in order to get her out of the plot possibility rut she'd been stuck in. The longer we do this, and the more we know each others' writing the better we get at it.

I must admit that another feature of this particular retreat was the food. Coogee is simply stuffed with fantastic eating places only 2 minutes walk in any direction. We went out for every meal — some had the full cooked breakfast, others a toasted sandwich and coffee. Lunch ranged from the most fabulous array of salads, to fresh sushi, noodles, or sandwiches. And dinner — well, let's say we did well for ourselves.

We developed a favorite breakfast restaurant, not because the food was so much better than other restaurants, but they had better um, ambience. As one retreater recalled, "the French waiter came over, fixed us with a stern visage and said...something. We're not sure what because the moment he started to speak our mouths went slack, our eyes glazed over and we lost all power of comprehension."

It's always sad when the retreat has to end, but I feel so lucky to be part of this group. Friends are so important in life, but writing is a solitary occupation, and to have such supportive writing friends is a real privilege, I think.

Do you have a group you regularly go away with? Where do you go? What do you do? What do you like about it? Do you have friends from work you share a special bond with? Do you have a critique group, or a reading group, or do you get together with friends for craft or other activities? What do you do with your friends that's special and fun and wonderful?

One person who leaves a comment will win a book by me and one by one of the other retreaters.

A Wench Classic post from a while back...looking this post over, I realized that so much of this still applies, and it would be fun to revisit the All-Time Keeper list (the ATK!). These still apply for me, and I'd love to know if yours have new additions ...

Pondering the books on my bookshelves -- many, many well-thumbed volumes, dusty or in use, and more than a few of them, ahem, not entirely read -- I started thinking about the books that have found a permanent place in my heart and my thoughts. We've all read a staggering number of books in our lives (some of us have time to read a staggering number every week/month/year!) -- yet only a fraction of those stick with us forever. For each of us, that list is undoubtedly different, with a few beloved stories in common. (I'm talking fiction here, though an all-time keeper list of nonfiction would be a fun blog -- I'll try that next time!)

I have a short list (and a really loooooooong list) of books that I will always remember -- books that have moved me, made me think, thrilled me with story or characters or artfulness of writing--and the best hit all three elements at once in wild and wonderful combinations. For me, the quality of the writing is as important as the story and characters, and the ones I love best weave it all masterfully together.

Some books are part of my ATK list for emotional, personal, and very individual reasons. Some stories have influenced or touched me deeply at certain points in my life and are sentimental favorites, some have taught me something I needed to learn at the time, and others kept me going or gave me a temporary escape hatch when I needed one. I'll be forever grateful to those books, and those authors.

What books would you list as your ultimate favorites? What books are the cream of the crop for you personally, books that will stay with you forever, treasured on your bookshelf and in your heart and head. What books have resonated so deeply with you that you will read them again and again, or at least keep them on your shelves always?

Here's a list of some of my ultimate favorites, off the top of my head -- I'm not home today to peruse my bookshelves and remind myself, so these are the ones that pop to mind first. Some are "great" or classic books, some are personally dear to me, some are gorgeously written, and some are just cracking good stories.And I'd love the time to read them all again, and recapture the wonderful sense of thrill and discovery and resonance that I experienced when I first read them. The intriguing question -- would I recapture that feeling? I'm a different person now than when I read some of these. Hmm.... anyway, here are SOME of my classic fave reads...the whole list would be very long and is always growing....

Anne of Cambray, Mary Lide (what a poet can do with a medieval romance -- exquisite)Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell (I read this five times in high school!)

The Wolf and the Dove, Kathleen Woodiwiss (my treasured introduction to historical romance) -- and the quick list of some of my favorite historical romances, ever: Prince of Midnight, Laura Kinsale, Lord of Scoundrels, Loretta Chase, The Wild Child, Mary Jo Putney, Tapestry of Dreams, Roberta Gellis...and way too many more to count....

Pippi Longstocking (really this could be #1 on my hit list, if we are gauging pure enjoyment)The Far Pavilions, M.M. Kaye (another sentimental favorite, as I was stuck in a hospital bed the week I read it, so this is one of those savior books for me)Vision of Light, Judith Merkle Riley (adored it, start to finish, thank you, Judith!)The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkein (and the rest of the series, though The Hobbit for me was The Best Ever in fantasy and the epic, leading into the visionary storytelling of LOTR)

Henderson the Rain King, Saul Bellow (deep, insightful, poignant, wacky, funny, dark and fascinating -- I loved it the first time I read it for a college course, and have read it since, gobbling its rich and dynamic and slightly crazy story.)One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (dazzling writing, wild and gorgeous story and craft)

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (moved me as a kid, when I didn't fully understand it, and as an adult, when I did)Kristin Lavransdatter, Sigrid Undset (masterful on every level, with an unforgettable characters and setting)Moby Dick, Herman Melville (once I got past the "assigned reading" mentality, I loved it--pure writing, as good as it gets in parts)A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens (I love his work, but of all of his books, this and A Christmas Carol speak most closely to me)

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (in college, not only did I love the story, it fascinated me how very readable this was) and another personal JA fave, Northanger Abbey.

So there's a few of my all-time ultimate champion books ... I'm sure there are more, and there are a TON of romances to add. As soon as I go downstairs, I'll look at my bookshelves and smack my forehead: "Oh yeah! that one! and that one too!"....

I'd love to know some of your all-time favorites. We all respond to books individually and the favorites may differ widely...and yet, some of them I am willing to bet are exactly the same....

This coming Friday, May 15, Mary Jo’s guests will be Diane Gaston, Amanda McCabe, and Deb Marlowe who will talk about collaborating on connected stories for their anthology, The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor.

Then on the following Wednesday, May 20, Jo's guest will be the Grande Dame of Regencies, Mary Balogh. Mary has written over 50 Regencies and Regency historicals, as well as numerous novellas, and has a huge and devoted following.

As the year progresses, we'll be having more guests and more fun. Not to mention our THIRD ANNIVERSARY later this month! So stay tuned. You won't want to miss all the fun!

Dave, thank you for sharing your time and your expertise with the Word Wenches and all our readers! We enjoyed your visit very much, and you are now an Honorary Word Wizard, with the privilege of adding "H.W.W." after your name. We welcome your visits at any time, and have placed a link to your Web site in our HWW sidebar on the right.

In appreciation of your visit, Jo has found a most excellent virtual gift for you, one we hope you will enjoy, given your propensity for things Italian: the Palazzo Mocenigo Casa Vecchia, Grand Canal San Marco. This elegant 15th century Gothic palazzo was once home to several famous people, including poets Thomas Moore and Lord Byron. It overlooks the Grand Canal, and has an air of beauty and mystery. We hope you enjoy your palazzo! Do visit the links to the other rooms in the palazzo--they're gorgeous!

Nicola, thank you so much for joining us on Word Wenches. We're delighted to usher you into some very fine company and dub thee an Honorary Word Wench. You may enjoy all the privileges of that exalted state, primarily that of putting H.W.W. after your name (which will impress wenchly intimates who know, but also the ignorant who don't but will be too embarrassed to ask) and the receiving of a virtual gift.

Since you have stately homes and ancient gorgeousness at your fingertips daily, and since you are a woman who can wear Hats With Aplomb, I thought a new Spring hat might be just the ticket. In fact, sparing no virtual expense, I've chosen three — a casual hat for wandering through bluebell woods, a more formal one for taking tea in the sun with friends, and of course, a hat for Monty (modeled here by a handsome chap called Atlas) ;)

Anne here, welcoming Nicola Cornick back to Word Wenchdom, as promised, to tell us about her upcoming trilogy, "The Brides of Fortune." Nicola, welcome back. Tell us about these brides.

Nicola:~ Thanks, Anne, it's lovely to be back.The trilogy – or quartet, if you include the short story! – is set in the Regency period in the fictional Yorkshire town of Fortune’s Folly. The unscrupulous Lord of the Manor, Sir Montague Fortune, discovers that by a legal oversight, all the medieval taxes have never been repealed. So he sets out to exploit this by levying as many taxes as he can find on his townsfolk! Chief amongst them is the Dames’ Tax, which entitles him to take half of the wealth of every unmarried woman resident in the town unless she weds within a year. Word goes around the Ton that this is happening and all the fortune-hunters decide that they will journey to Yorkshire to try to persuade the heiresses that it would be preferable to marry than to give their money to Sir Montague. The ladies are trapped, of course. If they wed then legally all their money becomes the property of their husbands. If they don’t, Sir Montague will take half of it anyway! Naturally enough they are not going to give in without a fight!

Anne:~ It sounds like a lot of fun.

I confess, I love finding out what the inspiration, the spark was, that gave birth to particular books. Most writers I know have no trouble coming up with new ideas, in fact most of us have more ideas than we could ever write, so I love finding out what it was that made that one particular story demand to be written. So, where did the initial idea for this trilogy come from?

Nicola:~ Although I write historical fiction I do get a lot of my ideas from modern themes and contemporary news stories. For example, I have written in the past about winning the national lottery and also about the cult of celebrity. The Fortune’s Folly trilogy was another idea that came from a modern newspaper. I read a report a couple of years ago of a man in Kent who had bought the title of Lord of the Manor of a particular village. He then discovered that as part of the deal he could tax all the villagers! No one had done it for centuries but he was a bit greedy and started to charge people to park on the village green when they went shopping, and to walk their dogs etc etc. The village was in uproar as a result. I read this and thought what a marvellous idea it would be to base a book around it. That developed into a trilogy as I went along!

Anne:~ Fascinating. And what sort of research did you do?

Nicola:~ I had great fun researching medieval taxes as background. My favourites were the childwite, which a man had to pay when he fathered an illegitimate child (and in many cases there was quite a lot of disagreement over who should be paying!) and the amober, which was the tax you had to pay the lord to waive his right to sleep with the bride on the wedding night! That one features in book 3 of the trilogy! On a more sober note I made Fortune’s Folly a spa town and I enjoyed researching the history of Harrogate and other northern spas. I particularly liked the fact that one of the spa water wells in Harrogate was called the “Stinking Spaw” because the sulphur made the water so smelly. I thought that was very descriptive! I even tried drinking the spa water myself so that I could identify with the experience of those characters who were taking the waters for their health!

Anne:~ Gosh, that's taking research to brave heights. I'm not sure I'd quaff anything called stinking spaw! LOL. And this cartoon makes the same point— look at the picture upside down for the 'before taking the waters ' view.

Tell us about the heroes in this series.

Nicola:~ The heroes of the three trilogy books are all fortune hunters but they are also government agents who are using the fact that Fortune’s Folly has become the marriage mart of England as cover to pursue their investigations into a very influential and criminal local businessman, Warren Sampson. I decided to explore the idea of what we would call “home security” in the books, because I had read a lot about spies and counter spies during the Napoleonic Wars but I wanted to look at what was happening inside the country in terms of social stability and crime and disorder. I’d started exploring this with the Glory Girls highwaywomen in my previous book, Unmasked, and the trilogy really follows on from that. So the Guardians, as they are called, all work for the Home Secretary and have the brief of keeping the peace at home whilst Britain is engaged in fighting a threat overseas as well.

Anne:~ This is by no means your first series of linked books. How do you approach the writing of a series? Do you collage? Plan it all out like a military campaign? Create a "bible" with all the details, character bios, etc. in it? Or do you make it up as you go along and note things down as they happen?

Nicola:~ I do enjoy writing linked books and have written several series. What drives me to write series is that I love creating that Regency “world,” as I hope I have done with Fortune’s Folly, and peopling it with my characters. But I must confess that I find it very difficult because I am always plotting myself into a corner! What seems a great idea in book 1 turns out to be a problem for the heroine of book 3 somewhere down the line. I used to be a great deal more organised at planning when I was writing a series. In fact I used to be a great deal more organised in my writing full stop. These days I write by the seat of my pants. I make it up as I go along. I wish I was more of a planner but just at the moment this approach doesn’t seem to work for me and you have to go with what does work so that means launching myself in and hoping for the best!

Anne:~ I think there are few "organic writers' among the word wenches, so you're in good company there. You're launching the series with an electronic "prequel" I believe. This is a bit of an innovation, isn't it -- launching a print series with an e-book? What is the prequel about?

Nicola:~ I believe Harlequin have done this once before for one of their paranormal single title series by Gena Showalter and it was a massive success, so fingers crossed! The suggestion to write a prequel came along as I was finishing book 3 of the series so I then had to go back and think what might be happening in Fortune’s Folly before Sir Montague discovered the Dames’ Tax. I decided that a bustling little market town was the perfect place for a fugitive to hide and so The Secrets of a Courtesan was born, in which my heroine, Eve Nightingale, has reinvented herself as a respectable shopkeeper in Fortune’s Folly and thinks her scandalous past has been buried. Of course it has not been buried deep enough… The e-book also sets the scene and introduces some of the characters in the series but it is a complete story in itself.

Anne:~ It sounds like a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to reading it. (Nicola's e-book, The Secrets of a Courtesan, is available from the Harlequin e-book store.)

Here is an extract from The Secrets of a Courtesan:

Suddenly Rowarth was beside her, his hand on her elbow as he helped her to her feet, his touch searing her through the material of her sleeve. He picked up the slightly squashed cheese and handed it politely to her. Their fingers touched. Eve felt heat ripple through her awakening feelings she had thought long dead. Rowarth was summoning the dairyman and the butcher with authoritative gestures now to replace the items she had lost.

Money changed hands. Eve heard the clink of coin and the men’s mumbled thanks. She felt hot and dizzy, the sun beating down on her bonnet and dazzling her eyes. She tried to steady her breathing. There was not the remotest chance of escaping a confrontation with Rowarth now. He still held her, lightly but with a touch that made her entire body thrum with awareness.

“Eve.”

She looked up and met his eyes and again felt the shock like a physical blow.

“Rowarth.” She was proud that her voice was so steady. “What an unexpected… surprise.”

His lips curved into a smile that was sinfully wicked but not remotely reassuring. “Is there any other sort?” he murmured.

“There are nice surprises,” Eve said.

“And then there is meeting me again.” His smile deepened. “Which I imagine falls into a different category given the alacrity with which you ran away from me.”

Pain twisted in Eve, bitter and sharp, not even slightly blunted with the passing of time. Yes, she had run from him. She had had no other choice in the world. And now, five years later, the mere sight of him could still affect her so profoundly that she felt faint and light-headed, her emotions stretched as taut as a wire.

But Rowarth’s measured tones had nothing but coldness in them for her now. Whatever feelings she still had for him, so deeply held that she had never quite been able to banish them, were not shared. Mistresses came and went, after all. He had been everything to her and there had never been anyone else for her since, but she could hardly expect it to be the same for him.

The crowds had melted away leaving them alone. People were still staring, though from a discreet distance. Women were staring. But then, Eve thought, women had always stared at Alasdair Rowarth. Women had always wanted him. He was handsome, he was rich and he was a duke. What more could one ask for?

Anne:~ Sounds most intriguing. Thanks so much for joining us again, Nicola. It's been a delightful visit.

Nicola:~ You're welcome, Anne. Thanks to you and the other Word Wenches for inviting me to be a guest.

Anne:~ The first print book in Nicola's Fortune’s Folly trilogy, The Confessions of a Duchess, will be out from HQN Books in June 2009 and the others will follow in consecutive months. And just look at these covers — aren't they gorrrrgeous? I'm envious.

Nicola has a question for you: What do you like about linked stories? Or dislike about them, for that matter?

She's offeringa download of the e-book and a copy of the first trilogy book to two lucky commenters. (The e-book won't be available until the 20th May.)

Jo: Welcome to Word Wenches, Dave. We haven't had a male author as guest before,but as a Scotsman, you would at least be entitled to wear a "skirt." Have youever worn a kilt?Dave: I did as a child. It was common winter wear in Scotland. Those cold winds off the North Sea get into everything.

Jo: You have over 40 books published after a successful career as a geologist. Whendid you start writing fiction and how did you get published?

Dave: Even as a child, I wanted to be a writer, but not to the exclusion of wanting to earn a decent living, which is why I became a geologist. I did take a creative writing course at theUniversity of Calgary (from Myra Paperny) in 1970, and tried sending out some short stories, but without success. I found I could not spare enough time from job and family, and gave up.

Jo: A lot of us have that problem. When did things change?

Dave: In the summer of 1984. I sat down at my computer and began writing a novel, more or less on the spur of the moment, thinking it would be a fun thing to try. I rapidly became (a) hooked to the point where I began sneaking time away from my work, and (b) convinced I was producing the greatest literature since Chaucer.

Jo: I can remember that illusion well! What sort of novel was it?

Dave: A huge fantasy novel. It won some interest but no contracts, so I tried a science fiction novel, but then I rewrote the fantasy as a trilogy. After all that (the equivalent of about 5 books) I produced a standalone fantasy, A Rose-Red City.

Jo: And it sold?

Dave: Don’t get ahead of me. In the spring of 1986 the oil business collapsed. For the first time in thirty years I was out of work. But, yes, two weeks after I completed my last consulting project, Del Rey phoned from New York and offered to buy City. I followed with an SF novel (not the one I had written earlier, which never did see the light of day) and then a fourth or fifth rewrite of the trilogy, "The Seventh Sword", and it was that final version of my first attempt that began to attract serious attention from fans.Jo: Living proof of my saying that when our early books are rejected, it’s not a disaster; we’re just building our inventory. What were the titles of the trilogy?

Dave: The Reluctant Swordsman, The Coming of Wisdom, and The Destiny of the Sword. They are all available again in e-book or Print on Demand format.

Jo: And now you have forty-one novels to your credit. Congratulations. The three most recent books are The Alchemist's Apprentice, The Alchemist's Code, and The Alchemist's Pursuit, all historical/paranormal mysteries set in 16th century Venice. One reviewer described the series as "...rock 'em, sock 'em Renaissance skullduggery of the most compelling variety." (Rick Kleffel, The Agony Column). Reviews have been very enthusiastic, including starred reviews in Kirkus (The Alchemist's Apprentice) and Publishers’ Weekly (The Alchemist’s Code). An excerpt of the first book is available here. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of these books, Dave. Why Venice? Why the 16th century?Dave: Here’s the time line: In 1999, Janet and I went on a bus tour holiday in Italy , and Venicewas one of the places we visited. (Jo here. The picture is one we took on our trip there, many years ago.) In November of 2001 we went back, stayed a week in Ravenna, and then had a week in Venice on an art tour run by the Smithsonian Institute. I think it was the preparatory “homework” for that visit that cranked up my enthusiasm. I began to think about writing a book set in Venice — did I dare, a stranger who could not even read the language? Eventually I took it on as a personal challenge to myself, and I began The Alchemist’s Apprentice in May of 2004. Ace bought it in February of 2006 and asked for two sequels. (Happy to oblige, ma’am!)(Jo again. The picture here is a Canaletto from the 18th century.)In 2006 Janet and I went back again on our own. We mostly just soaked up the atmosphere and more story ideas. We writers are always told to write about what we know. One of the many astonishing things about Venice is how much is knowable of its history and customs—mostly because it was never sacked, I suppose, and because it was a republic with voluminous governmental records that still exist. Once I had devoured forty or so books about it, I might not be a qualified historian, but I knew I knew a lot more than any of my readers were likely to know, and in popular fiction that is all that really counts.

Jo: A great sanity saver in research. Otherwise we’d never stop! So, have you made any errors you know about? My fans occasionally point some out to me. I don’t mind. It means I won’t make that mistake again.(This is another picture, this time of the Grand Canal, showing the less picturesque side of Venice.)Dave: So far, I’ve only heard about one, an anachronism. Fencing masks in training, which were a later invention. I still have a sneaky suspicion that they wore helmets with visors and just never said so.

Jo: That’s an interesting aspect of research, too. There are such huge holes in what we have, even when there are extensive records, as with Venice. I should perhaps point out that you admitted to fudging a bit on Alfeo’s clothing, giving me this picture of what a fashionable young man about Venice might actually have been wearing.Dave: That drawing is an exact contemporary work by Vecellio, Titian’s nephew. I did send it to my editor as a suitable model for cover art. Needless to say, it didn’t fly.

Jo: Your protagonist is Alfeo Zeno, an impoverished member of the aristocracy andalso hardworking apprentice to Maestro Nostradamus, your detective. How would you describe him? An astrologer? (Not the famous Nostradamus, I should mention, dear readers, but his nephew.) Tell us more about how you came up with your sleuths and how you see them.

Dave: I have been accused of basing Alfeo and Nostradamus on Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe. Really! One doesn’t say such things in polite company! (Guilty, m’lud, but Rex Stout did not invent the immobile detective.) Felipe Nostradamus was a real person, who carried on Michel de Nostradame’s work after this death, publishing in Italy. He claimed to be the great man’s nephew, although Michel’s sons denied this, and nothing more was known about him until my own researches revealed him to be an elderly, cranky, Renaissance polymath: astrologer, alchemist, philosopher, friend of Galileo, &c &c. He’s one of the few characters in my fiction that I based on an actual person, and no, I won’t say who.

Alfeo is a generic swashbuckling romantic, ironic, heroic, energetic, likable protagonist. He is also the faithful lover of the most sought-after courtesan in Venice. I think of him as my alter id.

Jo: LOL! I love his relationship with Violetta, and I love Violetta, too. Such a complex, strong, clever woman. I think she enhances Alfeo because a woman like that loves him, and he can respect her professional life. Did you hesitate about creating such a relationship?

Dave: It made Alfeo a little trickier to draw. He claims that he has his jealousy under control, but he knows that he must share her with her clients, who are the rich men he envies. At the same time, he fiercely denies being a pimp. A courtesan, of course, was much more than just a prostitute. Noblemen kept their wives uneducated and locked up in purdah, and so found them very dull. The courtesans were skilled, cultured entertainers, like geisha girls. Jo: You write sword-wielding young men extremely well. I'm thinking also of your wonderful Blade books. (A series about the King's Blades, blood bound bodyguards. Highly recommended.) Were you once a warrior male, or is this pure research? If so, what sources have you used?

Dave: I read books. I am amazed at how many people, even skilled fencers, say the sort of nice things you just said. I have never fenced in my life. I can’t recall ever being in a fight. One thing that helps, I think, is that I am a lazy writer. I write short, hurrying to get the ideas down; later I pad it out. Some writers write long and have to cut. If you check out my fight scenes, you will see that they are very short, just a terse paragraph or two from the harsh scrape of blades being drawn to the blood (villain), sweat (hero), and tears (of relief, from heroine). When you are moving all four limbs at once and watching an opponent doing the same thing while he tries to carve or skewer you with very sharp steel, you don’t have much time to think deep thoughts. Also, modern Olympic fencing is not a fair comparison. There are tales of expert fencing instructors who went completely to pieces when they had to fight real duels.

Jo: I love the way you present 16th century Venice to the reader. The books are first person in Alfeo's point of view, and he has that deep and easy familiarity with his city at all levels. There's never a feel of information dumping, even though the plots are based on the Venetian social, legal, and political system. How did you go about digesting your research so it feels sonatural? (Next picture is Canaletto's view of the Grand Canal.)

Dave: I dunno. I think the key word there is “digesting”. I don’t take detailed notes, although I may jot down ideas. But I read a lot and the ideas float to the surface when they’re needed. I may read up later on something I want to use—like the “War of Fists” that appears in the third book. I did try to put some of Venice’s idiosyncrasies in every story, and even make the plot depend on them. I can’t go into details on that without spoiling, of course.Jo: What did you learn about Venice that surprised you?

Dave: Everything. It is an incredible place, a republic for 1100 years. (Rome managed about 700 and the USA is coming up to 233.) It won and lost three empires. As a city of about 200,000 people it took on all the great powers of Europe at once and won. It invented street lights and a department of health centuries before anywhere else had such things. And on and on...Jo: What are you working on now?

Dave: A more traditional fantasy trilogy, “The Brothers Magnus”. It concerns a family famous for both its swordsmen and its sorcerers, and a heroine who loves one brother but is forced into marriage with another.

Jo: Sounds wonderful. Thanks, Dave, for a great interview. I've only been to Venice once, and I want to go back. It's a magical place.

You can read an excerpt from one of Dave's most popular novels here. There are links in the text above to the other books mentioned.

Now, everyone, Dave is giving away a copy of each of his Apprentice books, one to each of three winners.

Book one, The Alchemist's Apprentice, will go to a random pick of all commenters.

Book two, The Alchemist's Code, will go to a random pick from any questions or comments that Dave finds particularly interesting.

Book three, The Alchemist's Pursuit, will go to a random pick of comments on this specific topic: What do you think of genre-blending fiction? When does it work and when does it not? And -- if you have any ideas on this -- why?

One of the interesting—and scary—parts of studying history is seeing how it repeats itself. Like book publishing, everything is cyclical. I fear that the current concentration on the basics like math and science is depriving students of the opportunity to learn from the experience of others. There’s no bigger proof of that than today’s economy! For students of history, the current situation was obvious a decade ago.

PBS has an excellent summary of various economic bubbles in the past, but take a look at the one about 1929 and see if that doesn’t sound exactly like our recent world-wide binge of greed: expansion of credit, reckless purchasing, stock market speculation…. It’s all there in black and white, an outline of how not to do it. And we did it anyway.

And a true student of history could trace even further back to the monopolies at the turn of the twentieth century, which we replicated in the nineties when all the book publishers and banks and other industries started buying each other out. Since this isn’t a blog about finance, I won’t bore you with the details of the results of that mentality. You can watch the TV news and see it for yourself.

What makes people ignore history? Do we think we’re so superior to our ancestors that we would never make the same mistakes? Or have we all become so busy that we don’t take time to think about what we’re actually doing? Is there something in our own lives that we could or should change to prevent making the mistakes of the past—ours or someone else’s? There could be entire stories hiding in such possibilities!

We're gearing up for a busy month in May. Not only will we be celebrating our THIRD YEAR of blogging (yay, us!), but we've also lined up some awesome guests:

5/6 - Jo will host fantasy and science fiction author Dave Duncan who has published over 40 novels. Dave is a writer who masterfully blends genres in a who-dunnit series featuring a sorcerer sleuth in 16th century Venice. Dave will give away a book to one lucky commenter.

5/8 - Anne hosts Nicola Cornick for a return interview about Nicola's upcoming "Fortunes Folly" trilogy, and her e-book prequel to the series which is out this month

5/15 - Mary Jo’s guests will be Diane Gaston, Amanda McCabe, and Deb Marlowe who will talk about collaborating on connected stories for their anthology, The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor. Names will be drawn from among the commenters for a book.

5/20 - Jo's second guest this month will be the Grande Dame of Regencies, Mary Balogh. Mary has written over 50 Regencies and Regency historicals and has a huge and devoted following.

Don't run away, now! We have more announcements. Rather than make this one horrendously long announcement, we've broken them up into smaller posts. The next one is below.

Laura Davies Tilley has won a book from Jo Beverley. Dick won a book from guest Nicola Cornick. Last but not least, Kathy Kremer has won a book from Pati Nagle. We've been in touch with Laura and Kathy, but haven't heard from Dick yet. Dick, please send Sherrie your mailing address. Congratulations, winners!

ANDREA SCORES:

Congratulations to Andrea, whose Seduced By A Spy just won the Romantic Times Reader's Choice Award for Best Historical Adventure Romance. Way to go, Andrea!

ANNE'S A TV STAR:

On Friday, the 8th of May, Anne will be appearing on the national breakfast show “9AM With David & Kim” on Australian TV.

Andrea has designed more bookmarks. This is a sneak peek. For the full printable version, go to the sidebar on the right of this page where it says "Additional Pages." Click on "Printable Bookmarks #2," and a new page will pop up with a downloadable file. You can print directly from the file or save it to your computer and print from there. Watch for more bookmarks in the future.

To thank you for joining us on Word Wenches, we are making you <sound the trumpets!> an Honorary Word Wench. You may enjoy all the privileges of that exalted state, including putting HWW after your name. <g>

Here is also a virtual gift for you: an elf crown from beadarts.com You and Eliani can take turns wearing it. <G>